Catch Me If You Can
by Ivory Greed
Summary: Parker is bored and only Elliot is around for company. But maybe hide-and-go-seek wasn't the *best* choice in games to play . . . has Elliot bitten off more than he can chew?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Elliot and Parker play Hide-and-go-seek.**

**Disclaimer: We do not own any of this we do however wish we did.**

**Author's Note: Ivory here: This is the product of Sarah Carson and I watching **_**Catch Me If You Can**_** and realizing that Parker could pull it off. **

**Chapter 1: Initiation of the Game**

"Haphbhbhb." Parker was draped over the back of the couch in Nate's apartment. Only she and Elliot were home at the time, the rest of the team was tying up loose ends in Ontario, Thief and Hitter weren't needed.

Elliot was sitting in the kitchen, eating a bowl of soup, trying to ignore Parker's incessant noises. After the fourth exhale he sighed and turned to face her, "What?"

Parker shifted on her heels and tilted her head, still staring at Elliot's chair, "Haphbhbhbhph."

"Parker, the point of doing that is to _stop_ when someone asks 'what', now what do you want?" Elliot put down his spoon and gave the blonde all of his attention for the first time.

The thief pouted, "I'm bored! Can we please do something?"

"No." A short, sweet, and to the point classic Elliot answer. Of course, he loved Parker like a sister but that sister was five years old, ADHD . . . and insane. Elliot hadn't grown up with any of his siblings, having been put in the system at an early age, but the girl more than made up for that.

Parker continued making her obnoxious noises proving once and for all that she would not be satisfied with his answer.

Elliot could hold out, now it was down to a waiting game.

"ELL-E-OT," Parker said in the E.T. voice, she walked up to him with her right index finger extended. Elliot did not move, she slowly moved her finger around to the front of his face and proceeded to poking him in the nose thin she quickly ran back to the couch just as Elliot jerked around.

"What the heck Parker?" He gave her his evil glare and she in return gave him the innocent pout face, and shrugged. "If you are that bored why don't you go and steal a boat or something?... and then give it back," he added after a moment of thought.

"I did that yesterday; it was not as fun as I thought it would be," by this time she was staring at her computer screen rapidly clicking on the keys.

*Parker's computer: (entered by Sarah Carson)*

* * *

___________________

________________

___________________

* * *

* * *

* * *

* * *

* * *

* * *

* * *

* * *

* * *

*end computer screen*

Elliot face palmed as the clacking began to grate on his last nerve, "Parker, I have an idea, why don't we play the quiet game?"

She continued with her computer even as she shook her head, "Nope, never was good at that game."

Suddenly, a thought came to him, "Okay, Parker, I have an even better idea." He got up from the table and leaned against the back of the couch, "Why don't we play hide-and-go-seek? That would be a great game!" The pseudo-enthusiasm could have given him a cavity but Parker didn't notice the fallacy.

"Okay! 1-2-3 NOT IT! You lost you have to count to 100!" She slammed her laptop closed and ran out the door.

"1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, going, going, gone," even as he was counting, Elliot slowly made his way back to his barstool and sat back down once Parker's footfalls receded to where he couldn't hear them. "Finally, alone time."

***Later That Very Night***

Parker was still missing by the time Nate, Hardison and Sophie returned to the apartment. Though Elliot was so absorbed in his book that he hadn't noticed until Nate brought it up, "She's probably just back up in her room; doesn't she have one of those here?"

"Elliot, go check will ya," Nate sank into his armchair and began to rub his temples while Sophie brought him two Advil's and a glass of water, "we've had a rough day."

After trying to get out of it a few moments more, Elliot gave in and went up to Parker's room. "Parker?" The door was opened but Elliot was not immediately worried, knowing that the team all stayed in the same building, so Parker had nothing to fear. "Hello?" Still no answer. "Dang it Parker, I'm sorry that I ditched you back there." He had walked into her bedroom and, still unable to find her, sank down onto the bed. Then had a thought, this was _Parker_.

Elliot got up, first checked under the bed, then in all of the drawers. No Parker. Next he moved to the closet, throwing it open ready for an ambush. "Gack!" Elliot actually jumped as a mannequin fell out of the closet. "What the heck?" He leaned down and turned the thing over, around its neck was a sign that read "Margaret." "There's something_ wrong_ with that girl."

Having given up, the hitter went back to the bed, for the first time noticing that a piece of paper poked out from under the pillow:

"Dear Elliot," it read.

"If you are reading this then I am sure that it is approximately 11:58 p.m." Elliot looked at the clock, the last dial had just rolled and it was 12 now. He rolled his eyes, of course. "I just wanted to let you know that I have decided to make this the best game of hide-and-seek ever. If two months have passed and you still haven't found me then I will call with a hint. Barring that, catch me if you can!

"Love always, Parker oxoxox.

"P.S.: Please water my plant."

"Crap," Elliot face palmed again and prepared to show the note to Nate. This was not good.

**Author's Note: Me again! Let us know what you think so far, we got a lot of laughs coming up. Do you want to say anything Sarah?**

**Sarah: Yeah, I hope my simile face doesn't scare anyone. ;-) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: As promised here is the second chapter, and thanks to our reviewers!**

**Chapter 2: The First Clue**

"What does this mean?" It had been less than ten minutes since Elliot had found the letter and he now leaned against the bar in Nate's apartment. Nate had the letter in his hand and had only spoken after reading it twice.

Elliot sighed and ran his hand through his hair, this was going to be bad, "I honestly have not a clue."

"Did you say something to her?" Sophie had only read the letter once, over Nate's shoulder but she already knew that this wasn't just something Parker had decided upon on her own.

"Well," the hitter gulped and tugged at a braid he had, "I may have told her that I would play hide-and-go-seek with her – but I swear, it was only to get her out of my hair for a while!"

Nate tossed the letter at him, "Okay then, you started this, and you finish it. Go find her."

Elliot sputtered again, "This is _Parker_ we're talking about; she could be halfway across the country by now!"

"Then so should you, get out now." Nate's voice was more tired than angry but Elliot made no move to protest.

"Hardison, could you at least try to track her?"

Hardison held his hands up, "No Bro, this here is all you."

With a sigh Elliot went back up to Parker's room, hoping that there was something that he had missed, something that would help him find the hiding Parker. With a shudder he realized that Parker very well could be out of the country by now. Furious at not finding anything he picked up the Margaret mannequin and threw it into the wall, shattering its legs off and tearing its chest open with the corner of the dresser. "Darn it, Parker's gonna kill me," Elliot muttered as he stooped to pick up the pieces. All of a sudden, something in its torso caught his eye. It was a letter, folded in a strange, botched, origami crane, large and purple with its head sticking out of Margaret's rib-cage. Elliot took it and shook out the creases. Scrawled in Parker's handwriting, was a note that read: "Find the place where Al Capone bathes."

This time Elliot didn't even try to ask for Hardison or Nate's help. Letter clutched tight in his fist, he ran down the steps and out the front door, hailing a cab to take him to the airport. Then he would figure out where exactly he was going. "Find the place where Al Capone bathes . . ." Elliot sighed and refolded the crane, sliding it into his pocket. "Where the heck does Al Capone bathe?"

"Hot Springs Arkansas," the cab driver glanced at the hitter from the rear-view mirror.

"What?" Elliot was surprised to hear the heavily accented voice speak. "What did you say?"

The driver singled a right turn, "Yeah, Al Capone used to hang in Hot Springs, his car is there now on display in one of those fancy hotels." He chuckled, "What, are you doing a scavenger hunt or something?"

"Something like that," Elliot tapped the breast pocket of his shirt where the note as sat, "are we almost at the airport?" Elliot only hoped that Parker would be as straight forward as that. "Arkansas, here I come . . ."

**Author's Note: And there you have it folks! Chapter 2. Chapter 3 should be up soon, if you are enjoying this so far then you should check out some of my other stuff! Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Aurthor's Note: Here ya go! Thanks to our reviewers and on with the show!**

**Chapter 3: Hot Springs Here I Come**

Elliot had stepped off of the plane in a bad mood, he had hailed a cab in a bad mood and he had stepped into the only running bathhouse on the strip in a bad mood.

"Can I interest you in the all-inclusive package including a Swedish massage by yours truly?" The blonde's perky . . . attitude put him in a much better mood.

"Of course," he shot her one of his devilish Texas grins and signed the roster, sliding crisp bills across the counter before going into a back room the woman led him to and undressing.

A few hours later, Elliot walked out of the bath house, very much relaxed but not a step closer to finding Parker. "Al Capone?" Elliot wadded the paper up and tossed it over the table and into the trash can by the door. He was sitting in a coffee shop down the way from the bath house.

"Excuse me?" A male teen who was cleaning the table next to Elliot tapped him on the shoulder. "I didn't mean to intrude, but I was reading that paper over your shoulder." Elliot didn't growl so the man continued. "There are quite a few bathhouses on the strip: the one that is still operating, one that you can tour, and two others that I believe are being used as museums now but don't even resemble bathhouses anymore." He pulled a map out of his apron and handed it to Elliot, "I'd check out this one first, it's open to tour." The boy tapped the middle bathhouse. "Good luck on your scavenger hunt." Like a fairy godparent, the boy disappeared.

Elliot growled as he crumpled his empty coffee cup and grabbed up the map, "Parker, when I find you I will _kill_ you!"

Five minutes later, Elliot was walking through the large double doors into the old bathhouse. Because it was a Tuesday afternoon there was not a large number of people milling about. (A plus Elliot thought, meaning he would have the freedom to check all the nooks and crannies Parker could hide in.) The first room he entered was the women's bath room. It was a large room with various stalls with deep bathtubs. Some of the doors were locked but Elliot jumped to look over the stalls, not feeling like picking anything. No Parker, no more notes.

Next Elliot entered another room, this strange room had four hot boxes (all of which were locked, he would check these later) a strange, complicated shower, a table with a hole in it . . . and, in the middle of the room, a very odd, very scary box with tubes coming out of it. Elliot immediately realized what they were and balked when he saw a sliver of purple sticking out of the one closest to the wall. "Parker," he growled as he gave the paper a tug, trying his best to be inconspicuous while not touching the metal tube the crane was stuck in.

"Hi! You found me! Psyche! (I learned that from one of Hardison's TV shows.) I got bored and decided to find another hiding spot. Somewhere in this bathhouse I have hidden another crane. It will tell you where I am hiding now.

"Tootles!

"P.S. When you find me you will have to tell me what the heck this thing does."

Again, Elliot crumpled the crane only this time he kept it in his hand. This was _not_ going to be a good day, he could already feel it.

After he exited the weird room he walked through another room full of hot boxes and into the men's bathing room. It was bigger than the women's and was pleasingly devoid of people. Elliot again checked all of the stalls, finding nothing. Seeing that he was almost back to the lobby, Elliot took this chance to leap over a stall door and slide into one of the tubs, hoping that he wouldn't be caught until after closing. That would give him more time to search for Parker's crane in peace.

As the hours ticked by Elliot fell asleep. When he awoke his watch told him that it was 11 o'clock. "Time to get to work," he groaned (1950's bathtubs were _not_ good on the lumbar region.)

Elliot looked high, Elliot looked low, Elliot crawled into air ducts (Elliot got stuck in air ducts then crawled back out cursing Parker) Elliot picked locks, Elliot moved bathtubs, Elliot found nothing.

Elliot was not happy.

Not. One. Bit.

Then, just when the "if two months have passed" thing seemed pretty inviting (or the "give up and let the dang girl stay hidden forever") Elliot looked up. He was standing in the middle of the men's bathing room and above him was a stained glass mosaic. There, in the hand of one of the mermaids was a purple crane.

Elliot had to close his eyes and sink to the ground to sit on the edge of the fountain. He looked at his watch: it was four a.m. It took two minutes to retrieve a ladder from a storage closet, and another three to retrieve the crane. Then he slid back down into his tub: the bathhouse would open in four hours. He might as well sleep and then sneak out when they started getting visitors the next day.

As sleep tugged at his eyes he pulled the crane open and began reading Parker's half-illegible scrawl:

"Hi again, this is the _best_ idea you have ever had!" Elliot scoffed, and yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "In the hand of the daughter, you found this crane. Where the father is ruler, so shall you find me!

"Lots of loves,

"Parker xoxoxo."

**Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! (Sarah has given up on me so is only feeding me some riddles (not any of these) and a few destinations.) I kinda was channeling a pseudo-Dr. Seuss there for a moment. Hope ya'll enjoyed! **

**P.S. LOVIN' the reviews! Keep up the good work!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Greece, Here I come!**

By noon the next day Elliot was on another airplane headed to Greece. Why Greece you ask? Well, after Elliot had escaped the bathhouse, hoping that no one had recognized him from the day before, he went back to the coffee shop, hopping that the same fairy-boy would be there.

He was in luck and: within moments of showing the crane to the boy and telling where he found it, his eyes lit up. "Poseidon, father of the mermaids," he wiped his nose on the back of his hand, "if I'm right you are going to need to go to Greece."

"Grrr, Greece it too big for me to search over for one girl!" Elliot, despite his best efforts to the contrary, allowed his head to slam down on his forearm.

The boy scratched his head and offered the crane back to Elliot (when the man didn't take it he tucked it into Elliot's collar), "Sorry, can't help you there, but if you check the book store down the street they're bound to have a mythology book. Maybe something in there could help you." *Poof!* Again he was gone.

And here Elliot sat, in coach, hoping that this little mythology book that he held open in his lap would help him find Parker.

"Poseidon ruled the seas, calming waters for friends and sending harsh earthquakes to his foes. With his lovers –" Elliot shut the book and reclined his chair back, unable to sleep because of the chatting around him.

"Oh, I can't wait to see the Temple at Sounio; I have heard that it is amazing! Built in 444 B.C. and still standing, oh, George, can you imagine?!"

Boring, Elliot focused on another conversation.

"Betty, contrary to popular opinion, Poseidon is not all that cool to me," George's deep voice brought Elliot's attention back to the conversation behind him.

"George, honestly, you are impossible!"

Against everything that his body wanted, Elliot sat up and turned around, "Temple at Sounio?"

Betty was cute, brown hair spiked up in a pixie cut with big gray eyes. Not Elliot's type but cute. She nodded, "Yeah, it is a temple built to honor Poseidon the god of the sea."

"Yeah," Elliot laughed, "brother of Zeus and son of Cronos and Rea." He tapped his book, "I've been reading. So, how far away from the airport is it?"

*Meanwhile, at the Temple at Sounio:*

Parker leaned against one of the columns, tapping her foot boredly; she had really hoped that Elliot would have been there by now. Oh, well, she dusted her hands off and pulled a purple crane from her pocket, "If he won't be faster then he'll just have to keep looking." She hid the crane before skipping out of the temple and back to the airport.

Elliot had made friends. At least until they made it to the temple and Elliot found the next purple crane.

"To slow!! I'm off for tea and crumpets! Love – Parker."

Elliot crumpled up the crane and stormed off; he knew where he was going now.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chappie I've been uber busy! Have a good week!**


End file.
